A Fairytale Twist
by xXSapphireDawnXx
Summary: Cinderella met the prince at the ball and fell in love. But what if the prince and the girl met before? Alice, part of the hated Kirkland family, is saved by a "hero" named Alfred. They end up spending the next few days together, meeting up at the market. One day, everyone in the kingdom receives an invite to a ball held at the castle, and Alice finds out Alfred's secret. USxFem!UK


**Wow, can this even count as a one-shot anymore? I mean, this is more than a third of my multichaptered story (so far).**

**Request for my 125th reviewer on 'Wait, Who's the Mom?', Fred and George Weasley Twins. Hope you enjoy it! ^.^ I mean, you better; this is over 7,000 words. **

**Neither of them have glasses in this story, because modern glasses weren't really invented until America became independent, and this is set in the 1700's, but before they gained their independence.**

**And Alfred has a British accent with a bit of an American one mixed in it because again, British people mostly lived in America at the time, so there isn't really a American accent to develop. America with a British accent *drools*.**

**If there are any other mistakes with time and stuff, just ignore it. I researched so much stuff to see when it was invented or whatever. I really am not an expert on history.**

**Enjoy, and don't forget to review!**

**And for Alfred's clothes, I based them off of the second picture on this link: colonialquills. blogspot 2011 / 09 / in-ye-olden-days-mens-fashion-primer .html**

**•••**

The blonde girl sighed as she put her hair into her signature pigtails. She would have to go to the market today and pick up some food for the family plus some clothes for herself. She honestly couldn't see why the servants of the Kirkland household couldn't do this instead. Oh yes; nobody was stupid enough to work for the hated Kirkland family, no matter how much they would makes doing the job. There was only one servant, Sakura, who was willing to work for their family.

Alice smoothed out the slight wrinkles of her light green dress, just a few shades lighter than her dress. A stray thread caught against the ring on her finger, making her sigh again. The English girl did not love her soon-to-be husband in the least, and she was sure that he didn't love her either.

Antonio was a nice enough man, cheerful and happy all the time, but he didn't even like her as an acquaintance. She didn't like him either, but the two merely pretended to be on good terms with each other in public. Whenever they were alone, they simply ignored each other with the occasional fight.

Alice knew her Spanish fiancé had a girl he had his eye on. The blonde didn't care in the least, though she slightly pitied Antonio for not being able to marry the girl of his dreams. Her name was Chiara Vargas, a brunette Italian that Alice seemed to get along fairly well with, despite her horrid attitude and bad temper. She was beautiful, Alice would admit that, but she could not see what Antonio saw in her.

Back to the plot, Alice walked down the stairs in the large heels she was forced to wear. It made her at least five centimetres taller than she actually was, but they were quite hard to walk in the first time around. It had taken her at least a week to get used to them, but now, she could probably run in them—not that she would.

Sakura smiled slightly before holding out her hand for Alice, "Alice-san, are you ready to leave?" she asked, accompanying her to the carriage that her family owned. If her broken family of her father, Peter, and her could count as one. Her mother had died almost ten years ago, when Alice was seven years old. The blonde girl hadn't known what had happened to her mother, and she thought that her mother had just been taking a longer nap than usual. It wasn't until two years later that she realised what had actually happened, and that her mother was gone forever.

Alice smiled; Sakura was one person she could stand, and talked to sometimes, though the Japanese girl was quiet and shy, "Yes, thank you." She nodded in gratitude as Sakura held onto her hand as she stepped onto the small stair slightly lower than the carriage itself. It was improper to hold onto the side of the carriage as you stepped into it instead of holding someone else's to keep your balance.

The inside of the carriage was lonely, as there was no butler nor any other person to keep her company. Before her mother had died, Alice had always accompanied her to the market to get anything their family required at the moment. Her mother was a cheerful person, full of energy, but prim and proper around company. Juliet was a lovely girl, with emerald green eyes Alice had inherited and wavy blonde, almost brown, hair Peter had inherited, but not her. She didn't inherit her mother's hair, but as if to make up for it, God had given Peter eyebrows at least two times thicker than her own.

Alice found it humorous that her mother's name was Juliet. It would've been perfect if her father's name was Romeo, as she absolutely adored plays written by Shakespeare. They were lovely, and told such a story. The only thing different that Alice would've done was made the time lapse longer. They had fallen in love and six people had died because of it in less than a week. However, she still believed the piece of writing was beautiful, and she knew she would never be able to write anything close to that.

Interrupting her thoughts, the carriage came to a stop, and jerked her forward slightly. She looked of the windows to see that they had arrived at Madam Chastity's dress-making shop. The dresses she made were beautiful, and Alice had grown a little since last time, so she needed some new gowns. Peter, being eleven, hadn't yet started his growth spurt—though he was probably going to remain that small forever, as Alice liked to tease him—so he hadn't needed to go into town to buy more clothes.

Sakura opened the door, holding out her hand once again for the blonde to step down. Alice did, and huffed as she saw some of the boys playing around, throwing a small ball back and forth to each other. Some people weren't as sophisticated as others.

**•••**

Alice walked out feeling relieved. She had finally gotten the measuring over with, and only had the food left to get, along with paper and ink. The last of it had been used on the list of things for her to buy, and Alice loved to write, even though she knew she would never be as good of one as Shakespeare.

Sakura walked alongside her, holding the said list of what they needed to buy. The Japanese girl looked so small compared to her; she was already shorter than Alice to begin with, and with the heeled shoes making the Briton taller, she looked petite in comparison.

"Sakura, what's the first thing on the list?" Alice asked the older woman—despite the fact that the blonde was taller, the raven was older by a year. Sakura replied, "Ink." Of course it would be the first thing on the list—they would be using it at that moment to write the list and know that they didn't have much left.

The stall was less than ten metres away, not that much of a walk for the lady and her servant. However, as Alice was walking she was ambushed by a bunch—in this case, a bunch means four—of men. They surrounded her, cutting her off from the Japanese raven. They were obliviously drunk, and it didn't seem like she was going to be helped by anyone.

They pushed her into the nearest alleyway between buildings, covering her mouth so that she couldn't scream out for help. Alice could see her faithful little raven trying to help and get them to leave her alone. But this was one case in which her size allowed her opponent to get the advantage. One of the men held Sakura as Alice was being held. It seemed as if the two weren't going to be able to get away, and would probably be dead, raped, or both if things ran the way the drunkards wanted it to.

The ginger man holding the British teenager uncovered Alice's mouth, moving his hand away to kiss the younger girl. Alice spit in his face; it wasn't a very proper thing to do, but in the situation she was in, it didn't matter. The taller man wiped his face with the back of his hand and growled, "You little..." But in the moment before her mouth was covered once again, the Englishwoman let out a scream for help.

Suddenly, a boy that looked about her age appeared where the alleyway began. "Hey!" he shouted at them, "You don't need to torture innocent women. Maybe if you weren't always drunk, you would be able to get a girlfriend." The blond laughed before continuing, "Oh, wait! No one would want to be with you, even if you were sober."

The ginger holding Alice gritted his teeth, and his grip on the English girl tightened, "Why don't you come over here and say that to my face?" he growled at the boy, who stepped forward and walked towards the small group of four men, a smirk clearly on his face.

The blond stopped about 2/3 of a metre ((Feet is only used in America, so I have to use metres.)) away from the red-haired man, "Nobody. Would. Want. You." The boy was certainly cocky, and daring, getting that close to a man who was about to take a woman by force.

The older man looked like he was about to punch a hole through the blond boy's head. If looks could kill, the arrogant boy would be dead at least five times over. The ginger sent a fist towards the slightly shorter boy, aiming for his face, but the boy just snorted and caught the fist with ease, "You're gonna have to try harder than that," the boy smirked at him, and kicked the intoxicated man in the leg hard enough to make him collapse.

If the man's hand hadn't been covering Alice's mouth the stranger would've seen how she was gaping at him. The red-haired man was either incredibly weak, the alcohol had thrown ruined his strength, or the teenager in front of him was incredibly strong for someone his age.

The blond held pulled Alice away, and pushed her toward the entrance of the alley, "Just wait there, I'll have your friend out in a minute." He flashed her a smile as if his life wasn't on the line.

Alice turned away, not wanting to watch the scene. From what she had witnessed already, it was quite likely the men were going to end up unconscious, and the blond boy wouldn't even have a bruise. She really didn't want to watch the men lose consciousness, no matter how much she hated them at the moment. Alice didn't want to see them unconscious, she would prefer to see them dead if that was the sort of thing that they did every time they were intoxicated.

Less than five minutes later, the boy returned, Sakura beside him. "Thank you," Alice told him. Sakura bowed and said, "Arigatō gozaimasu."

"I can't exactly be a hero if I don't help damsels in distress," the boy laughed.

"I'm not a damsel in distress," Alice crossed her arms over her chest.

"You were," the blond looked at her, confused. Did she want to be molested? She wouldn't have been screaming for help if she did, would she?

"I am a damsel, I was in distress, but do not call me a damsel in distress, you American wanker, or I will hurt you," Alice threatened, but still managed to look prim and proper.

"That's not very ladylike of you," the boy mocked, laughing before continuing, "how did you know I was American?"

"You act it," she replied, "and your accent is slightly different." It was true; the boy's accent did sound mostly British, but there was a hint of something else in there too.

He laughed, "My name is Alfred Williams, and yours is?" The girl responded with a single word, "Alice."

"What, no last name?" Alfred pouted as Alice shook her head, "Fine. Can I come with you guys and help or whatever? I really don't have anything to do here."

Sakura shook her head, "No, Alfred-san, you don't have—", but Alice interrupted, "Just let him do whatever he wants. He did save us. It's the least we can do to thank him.

"Sakura, you can go ahead and do what you want. Go see Heracles," Alice smiled at her, making the Japanese girl blush at the mention of the Greek man. Sakura and Heracles were a couple, and were planning to get married next spring. It was good for her that she actually had a choice who she married, unlike Alice...

"Hai," the raven girl nodded, "arigatō." Sakura bowed before leaving to search for Heracles, who was probably surrounded by cats of all different sizes and breeds.

"Aww, did you want me to yourself?" Alfred teased, and Alice smacked his arm. "As if," she replied, rolling her eyes. She took the time to take in the boy's appearance though. He was a few centimetres taller than her, and that was with those ginormous heels on. Alice couldn't imagine being next to him when she was barefoot. He had a small little cowlick that stuck up from the rest of his hair that she desperately wanted to smooth down, but that would be rude. His hair was about the shade Peter's was, and his eyes were like Peter's too. Luckily, he didn't have the accursed eyebrows her little brother did.

He wore clothes that showed he wasn't a commoner, but wasn't at the top with the royal family. They were quite simple compared to other men's clothes, no patterns or designs except on the trim. The coat was blue with white ruffles on the sleeve and gold trim. He wore a white cravat, and a tunic to match the coat as well as blue trousers. The dark blue brought out his lighter eyes and went well along with his golden hair, the colour of the tunic and coat's trim.

"Maybe you did want me all to yourself," Alfred mused, smiling teasingly, "or at least it seems the way from the way you seem to be admiring me." Alice smacked his arm lightly once again, "It just seems as if I recognise you from somewhere."

Alfred looked at her, confused once again, "How could you know me if I've never met you before?" he asked the smaller girl. Alice shrugged before responding, "I don't know. Anyway, let's just get going."

"Where are we going first?" Alfred asked. As Sakura had left, she had handed the list of things to buy in Alice's care. Alice glanced down at it before replying, "Paper." It was at the same stand the ink had been at, so only about a foot or two away. They still hadn't gotten the ink, but after that incident she wanted to avoid the place until last. Oh well, at least they would be visiting the stand while the men were still unconscious.

Alice clutched the coin purse she had had all along, but none of the readers knew it. The purse was baby blue with designs embroidered into the silky fabric. Small pearl-like beads lined the small pouch used for holding money.

**•••**

The afternoon played out like this: Alice would say something as they would walk together, and Alfred would tease her about it. The blonde girl would then make a snarky comeback or tease him back. Alice would buy things in the list as they came across that stall, and Alfred would offer to carry it, saying how a hero wouldn't stand by and let her carry the things all on her own. The Briton would then ignore him and try to carry it herself, but the American would take the items from her hands, annoying her for the moment, but it wouldn't last long.

"Finally, we're done!" Alfred said happily. There was a lot of stuff to carry, even with Alice helping. Luckily, there was paper bags for the items, so it wasn't as hard as it would've been without them.

The two carried the things back to the carriage, where Sakura was waiting, Heracles was sitting beside her on the ground while Sakura was standing. The Japanese girl didn't want to dirty her dress, but Heracles looked like he didn't care and was just tired, so he sat down. Plus, he could pet all the cats surrounding him if he sat down.

Heracles stood up as he saw Alfred and Alice arriving, knowing Sakura was the servant to one of the two. He brushed off his trousers before giving Sakura a small kiss and leaving with a wave, leaving his girlfriend blushing. If he said anything, Alice was unable to hear it, as the Greek man had a very quiet voice. The only one he raised it for was a man named Sadik, but it wasn't a good thing. The two fought endlessly, even fighting over the raven girl's affections. Heracles had won in the end though, and now the two were a couple to be married soon enough. Sadik, on the other hand was forever alone.

The Briton and the American put the paper bags full of items into the carriage, and Alfred held out his hand for Alice to take and climb into the carriage, "Will I see you again?" the teenager asked as Alice stepped onto the little step allowing her to reach the higher inside part of the carriage.

Alice blushed, but replied, "Of course. Tomorrow afternoon." With that Alfred smiled and took Alice's hand. He kissed the back of it softly before saying, "Good day, m'lady." and smiling. Alice blushed even more if that was possible. Alfred waved as the door of the carriage was shut and the two ladies headed off towards the Kirkland household once again.

**•••**

This event repeated for the next five or six days or so, except Alice wouldn't be buying anything for her family this time. They would just walk around the market, and occasionally stay in the field about five minutes away from the market by foot.

"Why do you still live in England if you're American?" Alice asked one day as Alfred was laying, and she was sitting, in the field. Alfred moved his arm away from where it mostly covered his eyes and looked up at Alice.

He shrugged before replying, "My mother had gotten sick about three years after I was born. It was too bad to be handled back in the American colonies, so we had to come back here for her to be treated. My parents decided we—well, it was only me and my mother in America," 'my mother and I' Alice corrected in her head, but continued listening, "because my father had business to take care of here in Great Britain–would just stay here because it was easier than heading back on a ship to the colonies," Alfred laughed, "but everything's good now. Mom* had been really sick at that time, but she's better, and at least she's not dead!"

Alice remained quiet, only letting out a barely audible, "Ahh."

"Alice, are you ok— fuck. I said something wrong didn't I?" Alfred panicked, trying to think of what he said wrong, sitting up, "what happened?" The boy used a gentle tone—if Alice wasn't making a sarcastic comeback, that usually meant he had said something wrong.

"My mother died when I was seven," she replied softly, "she died of cancer ten years ago. They did everything they could, but there was no way to treat it, they didn't know the cause of it*****." Alice pulled out a golden hairpin that had a small emerald jewel in the centre of the larger side out of her hair, "Mother gave me this before she died, along with another one," she sighed, "but unfortunately, I've lost the other one she gave me."

Alfred clasped her hand in his, putting something small into her hand. When she opened it, she discovered that it was the other small hairpin, matching the exact one she wore in her hair down to the small jewel that matched her eyes exactly. Alfred smiled before saying, "I found it when you were being harassed by those guys back at the market. I kinda forgot about it while we were walking around that first day, so... But at least you have it now!"

"Thank you," Alice smiled. Crying over her mother wouldn't make things better, and Juliet would want her to be strong. S she didn't cry over the loss of her mother, even if it made her extremely melancholy.

The sky was beginning to darken, so the two headed their separate ways, Alfred kissing Alice's hand as he always did before he headed home in the opposite direction from her.

**•••**

"Ohayo gozaimasu," Sakura greeted the next morning, bowing in her Japanese style. Alice found it adorable, even as a girl, how Sakura used both Japanese and English.

"Good morning," Alice greeted, yawning slightly with her hand covering her mouth. Sakura picked out a dress from the closet for the girl to wear for the day, handing it to the Briton so that she could get dressed. Alice was at least capable of getting dressed by herself, so she preferred it over the Japanese girl helping her. The blonde liked her privacy.

"Alice-san, you will have to go to the masquerade ball tonight," Sakura told her, leaving the room, glancing over her shoulder to make sure the British teen was out of bed.

"What? Why wasn't I informed of this?" Alice shouted. She would've liked to know that she was basically supposed to be representing the Kirkland family at the ball.

"It seemed you father had known for a some time, but had finally given up hopes of you and Antonio-san getting married, based off of your interactions," the Japanese girl responded, bowing as she left. That girl was too polite sometimes, even though she was a servant. Alice shook her head with a sigh.

She still thought it would've been nice to know the fact that she was to attend a ball later that day, but she couldn't change that fact now. At least from what Sakura had said, Alice figured that Chiara and Antonio could get married. It wasn't as if Chiara was from a poor family, so it seemed the Carriedo family wouldn't mind having her as their new addition to their family. Except for the fact that Chiara could be kind of—kind of meaning very—rude if she wanted to.

Alice thought her twin brother******, Feliciano was much more likeable, but he was a little bit of an airhead. So they were about equal in her book.

_Who would she be betrothed to next?_, she wondered. By this age, it seemed everyone who was going to be married was already engaged. She and Antonio had been paired up at 13, so it was kind of surprising that they'd let a four year engagement end so suddenly. But either way, Alice was glad to be free of the burden that was marriage between the Spaniard and her.

**•••**

"Are you going to the ball?" Alfred asked Alice as they walked around the market. She nodded before responding, "Apparently, my father thought it would be a good idea to wait until the last minute to tell me." The American looked confused as he said, "But I thought you were already engaged. Why would your father bring you to a ball that is basically just to put two people in an engagement."

Alice shrugged before responding, "Sakura told me that Father had given up all hopes on Antonio and I being a couple." The British girl took a small bite out of the apple she was holding in her right hand. After Alice had finished chewing, she continued, "You're around the same age as I am. Why don't you have a fiancée?"

Alfred looked away for a moment before replying, "I'm in a...different situation than you are." Alice was confused by his words; how was he in a different situation than Alice was? They were the same age and social class... Alice decided that she would just let it drop for now.

"Are you going to be at the masquerade ball?" Alice asked, genuinely curious. If they were both single, then maybe the two of them could dance and—_no_. The British girl shook her head to clear the thought away. It wasn't going to happen.

"Ye—why are you shaking your head?" Alfred asked, slightly amused. Alice blushed slightly, embarrassed a bit at being caught trying to shake off those thoughts, "N-nothing."

"Whatever," Alfred shrugged. He pulled the pocket watch out of his coat, "shit, the ball starts in an hour. You'd better get home and get ready for it. I have to too." But instead of kissing her hand this time, Alfred kissed her cheek before heading the other way to get home.

Alice blushed heavily, but still walked towards the carriage the Japanese girl was waiting at. It had become kind of the norm for Sakura to take Alice to the market so that she could see Alfred, and she would wait by the carriage with Heracles and what seemed like dozens of cats.

**•••**

The girl finished getting ready, dressed in the dress she had gotten the for occasions like this along with a few others, a mask covering her eyes. Her gown was green, another one to bring out her eyes, with cream fabric replacing the emerald fabric of the middle front, all the way up and down, from her chest to the bottom hem. The part joining together the green fabric and the cream together was white lace, and it lined the bottom too. The sleeves went about three quarters of the way down her arms, and the ends of the sleeves were trimmed with lace too. Ribbons the colour of grass started on one side of the green and went straight across to the other down to the bottom.

The mask was mint green, but decorated with swirls of aquamarine, white, and jade. White feathers lined the outside of it, and it looked lovely. Alice didn't mean it looked lovely on her, it just looked lovely in general. She finished tying the pale blue ribbons into her hair before heading down the stairs, where Sakura was waiting. Everyone in the kingdom had been invited to come to the ball, even mere maids and butlers. But you would be able to tell who was whom from what clothes they wore. The more extravagant the clothes, the richer the person. Although this didn't work in Alice's case—she preferred clothes that weren't as fancy as all the other girls wore.

People were going for one of four reasons. One, they wanted to flirt. Two, they were forced by their parents to represent their family. Three, they wanted to be able to do something romantic with their future husband/wife. Or four, they thought the prince would fall in love with them.

The young prince was rarely seen outside of the royal family, so rarely almost no one remembered his name. Alice, even with her great memory didn't remember him. She knew that the boy was her age, but she would never wish that he fall for her. The British girl didn't want anyone to fall in love with her at first sight; it made anyone like that seem shallow, and that they only cared about appearance.

If anyone she wanted to fall for her, it was Alfred. She knew by now, after all the time she had had to think while readying herself that she was in love with the American boy. Alice wished that it wasn't him though; the other girls must be falling over him. She couldn't even count how many times they had been interrupted from their chats at the market by girls flirting with Alfred. It was immensely annoying, as they would be talking and suddenly a girl would just try to chat Alfred up.

A man hired specifically to drive the carriage just for that night opened the door for the two women holding his hand out for both the Japanese and British girls to step in. Alice's father had been kind enough to allow them a driver—one that would actually work for the Kirkland family—to drive the two girls so that Sakura wouldn't get all dirty driving.

The wait was short before the door was opened and the brunet man allowed Sakura and Alice to step out. Alice murmured her thanks along with the raven girl, and the two walked towards the castle.

Once inside, it was obvious the king and queen had gone all out. The ballroom was lavished in beautiful decorations, and the delicacies on the long table were all different types of pastries and cakes and miniature foods along with champagne and other types of wine, along with water.

Alice could see people dancing out on the floor already, but she couldn't tell who was whom. People's faces were. Hidden behind masks of all colours and hats hid their hair. She could see the four thrones, the largest in the middle, the the second largest on the left, and the smallest ones on the sides. There were a few people playing instruments for the music on the other side of the queen's throne.

There was the rarely seen prince sitting on the right smallest throne, looking bored out of his mind. He was leaning onto his right hand, and that arm was resting on the armrest of his throne. The king and queen's thrones were empty, and if the extravagant robes they were wearing were any indication, that was them dancing on the right side of the ballroom. The royal family were the generous type, and didn't seem to like to steal the spotlight away from other people by dancing in the centre of the room.

Alice stood near the wall. Of course she could dance, but she was looking for the American teenager. If she could find him—she would be able or tell by the little cowlick most likely sticking up above his mask. She wove one of her pigtails in braids at the end, braiding and unbraiding to pass the time.

Before long, she heard footsteps approaching her, and Alice looked up to see a blond boy her age. But it wasn't Alfred. It was the prince who had come to her. It just had to be her whom he picked to dance with.

"May I have this dance, m'lady?" There was something familiar about the tone of the prince, but she could figure it out later. The Briton nodded after a moment of hesitation; she couldn't very well refuse _this boy _of all people. Alice took the other blond's hand, and he pulled her towards the dance floor gently enough so that she was practically walking beside him.

He put one of his hands in hers and wrapped the other around her waist. Alice put her other hand that wasn't clasped in his on the taller man's shoulder. The prince began slow, stepping forward slowly, making the British girl take a step back to stay in sync. It didn't take long for them both to end up twirling around the floor.

When the ball was almost through, Alice decided to take a break and get some water. She had noticed some glares and some looks of awe as she and the prince had been dancing. People were jealous of her being able to dance with the prince, as many girls had approached him, and he hadn't danced with more than two or three of them. And those were most likely out of pity. Others were surprised that her, Alice _Kirkland_, from the cursed Kirkland family, had been the one he had approached.

She could see all sorts of couples out on the floor as she took a sip of water. Feliciano and Monika, Chiara and Antonio, Sakura and Heracles, Francis and Madeline—matter of fact, wasn't she in the royal family too?—and Gilbert and Elizaveta. It was surprising the latter were dancing together because it was a known fact that Elizaveta took great pleasure hitting the Prussian with a frying pan. The rest of the couples on the dance floor were unknown to Alice.

She returned to her partner, who was waiting for her, denying all the other girls' offers. The English girl danced with him some more before the music seemed to get quieter until it eventually stopped. She could then see the king trying to get everyone's attention, tapping a silver spoon against a wine glass as people would do at a dinner party.

"Attention! Can I get everyone's attention please?" the king shouted. People quieted down almost immediately; he was their king and they were the subjects, after all, "Thank you.

"We would like to thank all of you for coming and enjoying the ball with us. As you should know, at the end of a masquerade ball, all the guests are asked to remove their masks so they are able to know who they are dancing with," the ruler removed his own mask, and continued, "and it is now that time."

One by one, people removed their masks, revealing their faces to their partner. Some people weren't surprised; they had come with their lover, and so they already knew who they were dancing with. Others, Alice could hear gasps coming from, and they were clearly not expecting who their partner was.

Alice removed her mask, shaking her head a little bit after to allow her hair out of the corded restraints of the mask. She could see a small smile grace the prince's lips before he removed his own, making Alice gasp in surprise. It was Alfred. The mask had been hiding his small hair that didn't like to be tamed.

Alfred opened his mouth, as if to say something like an apology, but Alice had already turned toward the exit, and had run through through the open doors of the building. The doors had been opened to allow people to come and leave as they pleased, though there were guards preventing people from going up any stairways or through any other doors.

The American boy looked at the ground, slightly annoyed, but saddened that she had left, not saying anything. He would've been happy if she yelled at him for it—it at least showed she accepted it.

Alfred picked up a small pin from the floor. It was Alice's; was the pin always going to fall out of her hair and cause her to lose it? Well, now he at least had an excuse to try and find her—if she wouldn't accept an apology, then he could at least return this to the Briton.

**•••**

The American sighed heavily. He and some men had checked almost every house in town for that certain British girl, but they had no luck, obviously. They wouldn't still be searching if they had found Alice. Why couldn't Alice just have told him her surname? It would've been so much easier, and he wouldn't have have to go through the trouble of looking for her. He felt awfully rude—more rude than usual—about having knocked on everyone else's doors and wasted a few minutes of their valuable time.

What reason was there that she wouldn't have told him her last name...? (Though to be fair, Alfred had used his sister's last name, Williams, instead of his own, Jones.) Hell, if he knew, he probably would've figured out what household she belonged to.

"Sir, we've arrived," a brunet man had opened the carriage door, making Alfred sigh once again—but a hero never gave up, so he wasn't going to either! They had been to almost all the houses in the small village vicinity of the castle though, so the American was this close to giving up. (This close is about putting two fingers a centimetre apart ((about 1/3 of an inch)). Yeah, look how small that is.)

Alfred nodded, jumping out of it; he wasn't a prim and proper kind of person, never was, never was going to be, "Whose house is this?" he asked, looking at the other man who had opened the door for him.

"Kirkland's," was the response the prince got, and he raised one eyebrow. Was it possible she was part of the 'cursed' Kirkland family? Alfred didn't believe in magic and sorcery and curses, so he wouldn't care less. The family had been great before, not loved, but at least liked and not avoided. Apparently, the English family had been cursed, and the woman of the family died, as if proving it.

Come to think of it, hadn't Alice said her mother died when she was seven? Eh, it could just be a coincidence, at least two or three people died a year in the village, whether from murder or sickness. Plus, he didn't even know if the Kirkland household had children. Alfred was supposed to learn the names of noble families for when he was to be king, but he didn't have a very good memory, and was prone to forgetting names and dates, especially if he had never met the person in question.

Alfred knocked on the door hesitantly. If this wasn't the correct house, he was checking one more house and then heading back home. N-not that he was giving up, of course. The American would continue his search the next day, after he was well-rested and motivated once again.

A young boy answered the door, who looked suspiciously like his child would have if he had one, but with notably larger eyebrows. Good god, had he gotten a girl pregnant when he was drunk? Wait, there were two things wrong with that. First of all, the kid looked too old to be his child. Plus, he had never gotten drunk, and was still a virgin. That was a relief.

"Hello! I'm Peter! What's your name?" the kid sounded plenty cheerful, and like he had endless energy. "Alfred F. Jones," the Anglo-American replied.

"So your Alice's boyfriend?" Peter asked, looking highly mischievous. Imagine the face your little sibling has when they find you doing something embarrassing and plan to blackmail you, but even more devious. That was the British boy's face at the moment. Alfred was given hope at the name 'Alice'. Then he realised what Peter was implying before blushing and shaking his head furiously, "No, no no! We're just friends!"

"From the way she goes on about you, it doesn't seem like it," Peter replied before continuing, "but that may because she's the biggest jerk of jerks******* and doesn't have any other friends." The boy looked like a little preteen, barely into his double digits, and apparently didn't seem to like his older sister very much. Unless they were like frenemies, but in a sibling way.

"Peter-kun," Sakura didn't call him Peter-san because of how young he was, "who's at the do—," she cut herself off as she realised who it was. "Konnichiwa," the Japanese girl greeted with a bow, "I'll take you upstairs to see Alice-san." Sakura was psychic or something. Or maybe she had managed to find the book of the atmosphere, like Alfred had searched for with Feliciano, but sadly, they couldn't find it. At least not in the castle's library.

Sakura gestured for the blond Briton to move out of the way, allowing Alfred to come inside. The American stepped inside, following the raven girl up the spiralling stair steps. Surprisingly enough, they didn't have these back at his house (if that huge castle can be considered a house), all they had was straight stairs, so he seemed happy enough to walk up them. It was a small thing, but it's the same thing in present time when you went up the escalator for the first time.

The shorter girl knocked on what was supposedly Alice's room, and waited patiently for a response, "Go away!" Alice called, groaning after she said the two words. "Alice-san, it's 5:00 in the afternoon. I think it's time for you to come out," Sakura replied, not budging from the spot she was standing in.

"Fine," Alfred could hear the click of a lock unlocking, and saw the British girl peep out before closing it again, "Why didn't you tell me _he _was out there?" she hissed, clearly annoyed.

"You realise I can hear you?" Alfred called, catching the door before it was fully shut again and pushing it until he had opened it enough to slip into the room. Alice kept pushing on the door, but unfortunately, Alfred was still strong enough to catch someone's fist. He easily overpowered her.

Sakura, meanwhile, only a metre away, left the scene silently, smiling softly. They were perfect for each other, unlike Antonio and Alice as a couple.

"Why did you leave?" Alfred demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. He blocked the door so Alice couldn't leave the room and avoid the question entirely. "You really are an inconsiderate American if you don't know why," the girl scoffed, "why did you lie to me? Was everything else a bloody lie?"

"No! It was only that, and it was because if I told you I was in the royal family, you would've been expecting much more. I'm not fancy schmancy like the rest of my family, like Maddie and Mom and Dad. You would've been all stiff and boring if I _had _told you. And if you were are boring and dull, then I never would've fallen in love with you!" Alfred blurted at her. He clapped his hand over his mouth as he realised what he said.

The girl's eyes widened, and she was speechless. Alice opened her mouth, but ended up closing it; anything she was going to say had disappeared off the tip of her tongue.

"You know what, just ignore that last part. What I was going to say was that I'm sorry," Alfred said, after a few moments of the British girl being quiet, "oh, and here." The American put the pin back in her hair to the best of his ability. It wasn't expertly placed, as years of Alice wearing the pin had allowed her to do, but good enough.

The Briton reached up and felt in her hair where Alfred had stuck the pin in and touched the spot to make sure it was what she thought it was. Alice hugged him; honestly, even as an almost adult, what Alfred had said was adorable********.

"Thank you," she softly said, surprising Alfred. The blonde had just been pissed off at him a few moments ago, and now she was all happy and forgiving? He would never understand girls. They had the strangest reasons to get mad at you, and then had the weirdest mood swings. He wasn't going to try though; girls understood each other, and most of them hated each other.

Alice leaned up and kissed the younger boy chastely. It didn't even take a moment for Alfred to respond.

Sakura cracked the door, ready to ask if everything was going okay. As soon as she saw what was happening, she closed the door, and another small smile graced her lips. Looks like they got their happy ending, just like in a fairy tale.

**•••**

***A cause for one of the types of cancers was first discovered in 1775, and this is before that time. And it wouldn't matter even if they were in that year, because the type of cancer could only affect males.**

****Yes, I know Lovino and Feliciano aren't actually twins, but I like them better as twins, so deal with it.**

*****I had to use that line Sealand has, where he calls England the 'British jerk of jerks'. xD So I kind of shortened it because he himself is British in the story.**

******I find the strangest things adorable in boys. But this is one thing I am almost absolutely sure, if a guy in Alfred's place said that to any other girl in Alice's place, she would melt. Or at least I would.**

**Yes, yes. I know thrones don't usually go in the ballroom. That's what a throne room is for. But they need to be there for the story's sake.**

**If you're wondering, Peter and the dad didn't go because they didn't feel like it. xD No, I'm kidding. Peter was sick and their father took care of him because he was going to stay faithful to his wife, despite her demise. Plus, he knew Sakura would have more fun than he would at the ball.**

**If you need translations to any of the Japanese, just PM me. You probably should know it if you're an anime fan though, as all of it was from my own knowledge.**

**Any USUK prompts or requests (I can't seem to write any other pairing. And if you're reading this story, you obviously ship it), feel free to PM me, and I'll most likely agree to write it. As long as it's not smut. **

**~Sapphire**


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